Legal Definitions - fact pleading

Fact pleading is a legal requirement in some court systems where parties filing a lawsuit or responding to one must include a detailed account of all the specific facts that support their legal claims or defenses. This system demands that court documents, such as complaints and answers, lay out the precise factual basis for every allegation, rather than just making general statements.

Here are some examples to illustrate how fact pleading works:

• Breach of ContractLawsuit: Imagine a small business owner suing a supplier for failing to deliver goods as agreed. Under a fact-pleading system, it wouldn't be enough for the owner to simply state, "The supplier breached our contract." Instead, the owner would need to specify the exact date the contract was signed, the particular clause of the contract that was violated (e.g., "Clause 5, requiring delivery of 500 units of widgets by June 1st"), the specific goods that were not delivered, and how this failure caused financial harm to the business (e.g., "resulting in $10,000 in lost sales").

  This example illustrates fact pleading because the plaintiff is required to lay out all the concrete details—the "who, what, when, where, and how"—of the alleged breach, rather than just making a general accusation. These specific facts allow the court and the opposing party to understand the precise basis of the claim.

• Personal Injury Claim (Car Accident): Consider a person filing a lawsuit after a car accident. In a jurisdiction using fact pleading, the complaint wouldn't just say, "The other driver was negligent and caused my injuries." The plaintiff would have to provide specific facts, such as the exact date, time, and intersection where the accident occurred (e.g., "on October 26, 2023, at 3:15 PM, at the intersection of Main Street and Elm Avenue"), the specific traffic law the other driver allegedly violated (e.g., "the defendant failed to stop at a red light"), and a description of the resulting physical injuries and property damage.

  Here, fact pleading demands that the plaintiff present a detailed narrative of the events and the alleged wrongdoing. This level of factual specificity ensures that the court and the defendant are fully informed about the precise nature of the negligence claim from the outset, allowing them to prepare their defense or response accordingly.